I’d like to gift my relatives a wireless router, which will be their first foray into OpenWRT. While I will perform the initial OpenWRT installation setup, they will be learning to use, manage and upgrade it over time - i.e. Xiaomi that soft-brick themselves for various reasons is not a good option. Relatives have a few properties, so this router will be in service for years to come, even when it is no longer their main one.
I’m mostly looking into CUDY, WR3000 v1 in particular - but a bit concerned about 128MB RAMwhereas I should have been concerned about 16MB flash, as I was looking at v2 specs while shopping for v1. I’ve been running OpenWRT on SBCs with overwhelmingly more powerful hardware for years, and have no idea what to expect from consumer hardware. Is it good enough for 3-5 years of OpenWRT support?
Additionally, while I’m obviously late for Christmas with this, it needs to be ready by New Year, limiting me to local stores in my small country. Amazon/Newegg/Ebay/Aliexpress are not an option.
Is that cudy model the only one available to you? It's an ok unit, but if the wr3000h, s, e, or p is available, I would opt for any of those over the wr3000.
I read about unsupported v2s, and will specifically target v1 hardware.
More advanced Cudy models are all available, but also noticeably more expensive. Besides Cudy & Xiaomi, there’s Netis N6, some Mercusys of unknown hardware revisions I will need to contact sellers to determine. Everything else is either unreasonably expensive, doesn’t support OpenWRT, or both.
I’d prefer something cheap, straightforward & hard to brick for now - and when they are familiar with OpenWRT & feel the need to upgrade, get them something much more advanced and consequently expensive, like upcoming OpenWRT Two. However, the device to be purchased now will be moved to their other property rather than retired.
Local ISPs aren’t very fast, we’re looking at 300mbps at best, probably less. Relatives also plan to buy a NAS, so there will be some LAN to LAN & LAN to WLAN traffic up to 1gbps, hence at least AX3000 requirement.
Under the circumstances, do I need a more advanced model, Cudy or other, with 256MB or more RAM?
p.s. I do not to disclose my location for privacy reasons. I understand it is annoying, sorry for that.
I suggested the other models because the wr3000v1 has limited flash space compared to the others. For me, I tend to add packages to the firmware selector builds that I make for myself, not many, but some. So I utilize that extra space. However, the wr3000v1 is sufficient for most general users, so if you feel that would suffice, then that's probably best.
@goofus just realized I was looking at v2.0 specs all this time, with 128MB RAM / 128MB ROM… Whereas WR3000 v1.0 is 256/16. Thank you for pointing that out, I will definitely pick another model!
@frollic thank you, it is available as well - and just slightly more expensive than higher-tier WR3000 models. Do I assume correctly that difference in range & wall penetration with WR3000 is negligible?
I ordered WR3000P for now, since relatives might use more ethernet ports. However, I am also keeping an eye on TR3000, and might order one as well as a gift to another relative.
Most routers have a life expectancy of 3-5 years and I think the advancements in technology are moving fairly fast - faster then most Internet Service Providers are upgrading their networks. You can easily obtain more capacity than is actually available.